Emperor Kangxi ascended the throne at the age of eight. As a young man, he was decisive and efficient in his administration. His intelligence and abilities were extraordinary, and it can be said that he was born to be a politician.

He placed high hopes on the crown prince, providing him with the best teachers and the most generous material conditions, but the crown prince failed to meet his expectations.

If that were the case, it would be fine, but there was also Yinzhen, who did things exactly to Yinzhen's liking.

Yinzhen's physical ailments made Kangxi completely reject the possibility of him becoming the heir, and the crown prince was not as good as Yinzhen.

The worst thing is comparison. It's wrong for the Crown Prince not to do well enough, but it's even more wrong not to do anything at all.

Being the crown prince is a skill; anyone who's done it knows how difficult it is!

Overall, however, Kangxi felt that the crown prince could still be saved and decided to teach him more.

The fact that the Crown Prince had entered the Imperial Study to review memorials could not be kept secret, and soon everyone who needed to know would find out.

Upon hearing this, the court officials could only conclude that His Majesty truly valued the Crown Prince, carrying him around to teach him. It seemed that Suo'etu's influence on the Crown Prince had vanished.

As a result, a group of followers immediately appeared in the court and began to join the Crown Prince's camp. The Crown Prince was short of people at the moment, so he secretly took in many followers with a mix of reluctance and enticement.

When the eldest prince found out about this, he was so angry that he couldn't eat much all day.

Everyone else is enjoying their success, but the Emperor is so biased. The eldest prince felt wronged and wanted to cry.

When he was a child, he always heard his mother say that his father, the Emperor, valued him highly. Now, he doesn't feel that value; he only feels favoritism.

Tong Cheng'er was taking care of her pregnancy, so Yinzhen also took a leave of absence. He handled most of the Ministry of Personnel's affairs at his residence, only going out for those tasks that required him to leave.

So they lived a very comfortable life.

Under Yinzhen's rule, most people in the Ministry of Personnel trusted him. However, there were always a few people who weren't very bright and didn't want to live a peaceful life. So, some of them went to the Qianqing Palace to file a complaint.

The Crown Prince was also present when the Ministry of Personnel filed the complaint.

Emperor Kangxi asked, "What brings you here, my dear minister?"

"Your Majesty, I beg you to severely punish Prince Yong."

Upon hearing this, Kangxi frowned. He naturally believed that Yinzhen would not do anything outrageous, but since the complaint had come to him, he had to ask about it.

"Tell me, what did Prince Yong do?"

The man said, “Prince Yong has not been to the Ministry of Personnel for five days in a row. He is really negligent. How can such a person be qualified to be the leader of the Ministry of Personnel? I beg Your Majesty to investigate.”

When Kangxi heard this, he was taken aback. He had not been on duty for five days in a row. This was too easy to verify, and the possibility that it was false was very small.

This was hardly something Yinzhen would do, but it wasn't a big deal. Kangxi understood the situation of the Ministry of Personnel, and it was doing quite well under Yinzhen's administration.

Skipping work for five days was not a big deal in Kangxi's eyes.

But this guy must be out of his mind to dare to sue his son!

He was very satisfied with the situation at the Ministry of Personnel.

The Crown Prince was shocked to hear this. His fourth brother had missed five days of duty. Knowing Kangxi as he did, he knew he would be displeased.

After all, the Crown Prince had always known his father's strict attitude towards his son.

The Crown Prince was expecting his father to be furious, but in the end, Kangxi simply asked casually, "Has something gone wrong at the Ministry of Personnel?"

The person who made the accusation was taken aback, then shook his head: "No, it wasn't true."

Kangxi: "Since nothing went wrong, you can go back now."

The man left, completely bewildered.

After he left, Kangxi's face immediately darkened. He then issued an imperial edict, and the person who filed the complaint was demoted and banished from the capital to a very remote place.

The Crown Prince watched in astonishment, wondering when his father had become so easy to talk to.

The fourth brother shirked his duties and surprisingly escaped punishment.

That's simply against common sense.

The crown prince almost shouted in his heart, "This is not scientific!"

The crown prince could only express his shock in his heart; he couldn't actually say anything, otherwise he would be disrespectful to his brother.

Yinzhen knew about the accusation against him at home, but only found out about it here when people from the Qianqing Palace arrived.

Emperor Kangxi wanted to see him.

Yinzhen could only bid a reluctant "farewell" to his young consort before heading to the Qianqing Palace.

The Crown Prince was not present when Kangxi met with Yinzhen.

Seeing his son looking much better and beaming with joy, Kangxi said, "You're living quite comfortably! People from the Ministry of Personnel have even come to me with complaints. Tell me, what's going on? You haven't been to your post for five days straight. What were you thinking?"

Yinzhen answered honestly, "My wife has finally become pregnant, and I am afraid that the people in the mansion are not taking good care of her, so I want to spend more time with my wife and the child."

When Kangxi heard this reason, the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily. What kind of ridiculous reason was this? He was not going to work just to spend time with his wife and unborn child.

That reason is simply unbelievable.

Moreover, he fears that the people in the mansion won't serve him well enough. Does that mean he'll actually serve people?

Although he knew his situation was special, Kangxi couldn't help but rub his forehead.

That's a truly laughable answer.

"This is not a reason for you not to take the job."

Yinzhen continued, "I think the Ministry of Personnel can function even without me. They might not be comfortable staying there, so I might as well just ask for leave. Isn't that a good thing?"

Emperor Kangxi: "This is a matter of attitude."

Yinzhen, seemingly unfazed, continued, "Your Majesty, I have a good attitude. I doubt the people in the Ministry of Personnel would want me to go. I would like to stay at home and accompany my wife during her pregnancy."

Kangxi: "You still have the nerve to talk back?"

Yinzhen muttered to himself, "Your subject is not wrong, it is true."

"Shut up."

Yinzhen shut his mouth and stopped talking.

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